This is my real.

I fight famine with big data.

Tatenda Ndambakuwa

Senior, College of Humanities and Sciences

I grew up in Zimbabwe and remember the food crisis that left me and millions of others facing starvation. Now I’m on a mission to prevent future famines in Africa using the power of big data. My startup is developing a mobile app that allows farmers to upload all kinds of information to help maximize their efficiency. My name is Tatenda Ndambakuwa, and using technology to prevent famine is how I challenge the norm. VCU is where I make it real.

The da Vinci Center at VCU allowed me to collaborate with the schools of the Arts, Business and Engineering, as well as the College of Humanities and Sciences. With the mentoring and financial support I received from them, I was able to attend the Draper Competition, an annual entrepreneurship event in Massachusetts that allowed me to hone the skills needed to go from ideation to venture creation.

I hadn’t even heard of Virginia when I got to the United States, but when I started looking for highly rated mathematics programs, VCU had the added bonus of being extremely diverse. I’m going into my senior year here, and all of my professors and classmates have been exceptionally supportive and welcoming in all of my fields: math, physics and urban planning.